Tuesday, 12 February 2008

DURR played host to Turzi and Your Twenties last Monday. A Metronomy member's side-project, Your Twenties sound like the perfect antidote to that outfit. While the first half of their set was decidedly lacklustre, they rescued it with a ricocheting finale including a no-holds-barred rendition of 'Please Please Me'. Watch out for 'Caught Wheel', and I mean watch out in the avoid it sense: it's one of those riffs that is far more catchy than it is good!

Turzi stumbled onstage approaching 1am with a confusing array of boxes and dials which apparently contributed to the ensuing caterwaul. The band are as yet without a label in the UK but are beginning to attract serious attention with their crossing the channel to play a string of English dates including this one. They describe themselves as Sonic Youth meets Ennio Morricone, an ambitious claim but as good a one as any to approach them from! Their DURR performance displayed different arrangements to their studio recordings, which are readily available for listening here. The arrangements orchestrated a spotlight on synth player Tim Blake, apparently a legend from the '70s (afraid I'm out of my depth there!) Blake's keyboard parts were electrifying, cutting through and grounding the band's sonic explorations. DURR's arena did little justice for the other members - frontman Turzi's microphone wasn't even on and a lot of the melodic guitar forays got lost in a mound of unintelligible noise. They were left sounding like The Cooper Temple Clause relentlessly fed through a reverb pedal. The splinters that made it through the fuzz hinted at the sonic and melodic achievements of a band capable of creating intriguing atmospherics.

These New Puritans are headliners at DURR tonight, a must-see that I really wish I could be at. Judging by the genius of 'Beat Pyramid', they won't be playing such intimate venues for much longer. Here's one of 'Beat Pyramid's best moments. 'MKK3' functions as the album's ideological centre, and Jack Barnett, in his self-reflection, reveals himself as another Kele Okereke underneath all that pinpointed spirographing!

Of course it's banging around anyway, but here's 'Cassius' due to be released as a single on 10th March. With ‘Antidotes’ leaked, Foals' debut album's official release could end up a dud. Yanis will say he doesn't care but it's a shame for Trangressive and for a debut that meets vamped expectation. ‘Cassius’’ addictive chorus and compulsive bass exemplify the band’s talents. No matter how hard they try to stay shy, Foals are writing the most precise, joyous pop songs of the century so far.

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